


Not The Most Conventional

by CrypticGabriel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childbirth, Cunnilingus, Explicit Sexual Content, Gender Dysphoria, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Implied Hunk/Shay (Voltron) - Freeform, Implied Lance/Allura (Voltron), Implied Zethrid/Ezor (Voltron), M/M, Miscarriage, Mpreg, Nightmares, Pregnancy, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Pregnancy, Trans Shiro (Voltron), Trans Zethrid (Voltron), Transphobia, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, vanishing twin syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:15:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22453279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrypticGabriel/pseuds/CrypticGabriel
Summary: Keith and Shiro had been together for several years, the both of them decide that they want to start a family. However, what Keith didn't expect was how... prepared Shiro was.Regardless, Keith chooses to carry their child instead of having a surrogate.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've finally started bringing this fic thread up on Ao3! I'd been sick for a while, otherwise I probably would've gotten this out sooner! It's also gonna be shared in multiple chapters (maybe 4 or 5 I'm not sure)
> 
> Here's some context in case you haven't read the fic on twitter.  
> Keith and Shiro are both trans men. Shiro had so much dysphoria around the idea of pregnancy that he already planned on having a hysterectomy. However, he decided to harvest his eggs before he did that, thinking maybe it'd be a good idea if he wanted to have kids with someone later in life.  
> So, the fic begins with Shiro and Keith talking about starting a family, and the topic of Shiro harvesting his eggs gets brought up.

_Keith didn’t know what he was_ expecting when his husband of two years told him that he needed to tell him something important. What he didn’t expect was a conversation that seemed to have taken a wrong turn on Albuquerque.

“You _what?”_

“Before I went on T, I froze my eggs.” Shiro shuffled his feet. “I had the expenses to do it at the time, but… well, my personal savings for harvesting my eggs are running low, and I’m worried the clinic will get rid of them.”

“Why did you do that?” Keith asked curiously. “You never mentioned it. Hell, you don’t even have a uterus anymore.”

Shiro blushed. “Well… I dunno, I thought about maybe having a child one day, through different means.” Shiro shrugged. “I wanted to make sure I was happy and in a stable living situation before I committed to something like that. I just had them harvested so that the option would always be there. I felt like now was the right time to bring it up. Besides, we’ve been together for a long time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“It’s complicated,” he confessed. “I thought me keeping them for the future was kinda weird, but I think now is a good time to ask.” He smiled and took his hands. “I want to have a baby, Keith.”

“Shiro…” Keith felt a little unsteady. “This is a lot to take in. Are you sure?”

“More than sure,” he insisted. “We don’t have to decide right away, though. Just… I’ve always wanted to be a dad.”

Keith saw this bright light in Shiro’s eyes while he talked. Keith obviously had never thought about children. He was a gay man that had been in relationships on and off for several years before dating and then marrying Shiro. He was quick to start transitioning medically to alleviate his dysphoria once he had the means and funds to. Shiro had already undergone top surgery when they’d first dated, celebrating their milestones together.

“I just never thought about it,” Keith confessed to him. “Babies are expensive, and all. And it’s hard to be that committed.”

“I’m not forcing you to,” he assured him. “I’ve just had this plan ever since I was a teenager.”

He smiled a bit. “Tell me your plan.”

“Well, we can find a surrogate, and we’ll make sure all her needs are met while she’s pregnant with our child. And once the baby’s born, you and I can raise them together… If you’re willing, of course.”

“Right.” Keith sighed faintly. “You really want this, huh?”

Shiro nodded. “I know this is really sudden. I’ll give you plenty of time to think. If you don’t want to do it, that’s perfectly okay.”

Keith gave him a kiss. “I’ll think about it.”

He did. He thought about it all day. Keith grew worried, too. Neither of them knew any cis women that’d be willing to be surrogates. The idea of a complete stranger carrying their kid worried him more. He didn’t even think he was going to be an adequate father, let alone a good one. But he knew how badly Shiro wanted this.

“Who’d be our surrogate?” That night, Keith decided to ask.

He saw Shiro blush while he pondered. “I… I never thought about that. I just knew that I definitely didn’t want to get pregnant.” He turned to face him. “The concept always scared me. Your entire body becomes this husk for another person. Your insides completely rearrange. And it’s just… in there. I always hated the idea of it.”

Keith couldn’t believe that he was saying this. “Well… what if I carried?”

Shiro’s eyes widened as he sat up. “Keith… Keith, no. I’d never ask you to do that. Let’s find any surrogate. We don’t even have to have a baby that way. There are plenty of children that need good homes, Keith.”

“I know…” He shrugged. “But I thought about it. I figured there was a reason why you said you wanted a surrogate in the first place. But think about it for a second. It’d be your egg, some hot shot’s sperm, and I’d be carrying it. In a way, I’d be pregnant with your baby. You’d really be the baby’s father.”

He saw Shiro’s face grow redder. “Well, sure. But what about you? Pregnancy takes a huge toll on you, Keith. I don’t even know the extent of your dysphoria.”

“No doubt it’d be really hard.” Keith rubbed his arm. “But I saw how happy you were while you talked about it. This is something you really want. And if you want this, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy.”

“Your well-being will make me happy,” he said. “I don’t want you to have regret or feel like you can’t choose.”

Keith looked at him, taking a deep breath. He did think about this. This was what he wanted. “I love you, Shiro. I want to do this with you.”

Shiro grinned, taking him in his arms. “I love you too.”

Keith smiled up at him. “So, let’s do it. Let’s have a baby.”

Shiro’s smile stretched wider, and he gave him a kiss. “I don’t deserve you.”

“You deserve the world, Shiro,” he murmured and snuggled closer to rest.

\--

_The fertility process was far more_ invasive than Keith thought. He already knew that he’d have to stop taking Testosterone, and that was a blow to his confidence, but he also had to take fertility drugs via injection to improve the chances of an embryo actually taking. This was an expensive procedure, so they wanted to make sure it took.

They also decided to implant three embryos.

“If it turns out all three of them take, we’re going to have some issues,” Keith cut in, as they were looking through papers. They had the option of choosing which sperm donor to pair with Shiro’s eggs, and Shiro was eager to do it.

“I’m just hoping that at least one takes,” Shiro confessed, breathless as he looked. “Oh, Keith. Here’s one!”

“Let me see.” Keith moved closer.

“This one is a science teacher,” he said. He then looked down. “Oh no. He’s a felon.”

Keith burst into laughter. “On a light shoplifting charge. What'd he steal? A bag of chips? How do you go to jail for stealing Pringles? He was probably in there for an hour.”

“Let’s just find another…” Shiro continued perusing.

There was one file that actually caught Keith’s eye. “Hey, I like this one…”

Shiro peered over. “A children’s book author…”

“And not one Pringle was stolen.”

“You dork,” Shiro laughed and lightly nudged him. “I like him too.”

Keith smiled and gave him a kiss. “Gentleman, I think I’ve found our third baby daddy.”

He grinned and held him close. “I already can’t wait.”

\--

_Keith didn’t sleep a wink. On_ the day of the “conception,” he was so nervous. There was no way of knowing what was going to be the true outcome.

Shiro waited outside, and Keith was elevated and on stirrups for the whole world to see between his legs. The doctor made things even more clinical. Like, yes, he had a vagina, but the doctor didn’t have to keep saying it in every other sentence.

When it was over, he was quick to reunite with Shiro, emotionally drained.

“How do you feel?” Shiro asked gently.

“Dysphoric, among other things,” he grumbled. “The doctor made it weird.”

“Don’t think about the doctor,” he assured. “In a couple weeks, we’ll be able to find out if we’re having a baby.”

Keith smiled at that. “Well, you’re right…”

Shiro gave him a kiss. “Let’s go home and rest.”

“Legs elevated, limited stress. Doctor’s orders,” he smiled.

\--

_Keith was almost too nervous to_ check the pregnancy test on the bathroom sink. Shiro wasn’t home, and after a couple weeks of waiting, he just wanted to check. This was a big step for him.

This could go either way. If it did take and he was pregnant, then the next nine months were going to start a huge turning point in his life. If it didn’t take, then they might never have another chance. Not that it was ever a problem, anyways. Adoption was always something he wanted, and he’d tried saving up money to start up the process many times.

The timer went off, taking him out of his thoughts. Fuck, he was so nervous! He quietly reached over to take it in his hand. It was then that he finally checked the results.

It was a positive test.

The full weight of that crashed down on him. Keith realized right then what they’d done. He already felt so scared. Anything could go wrong, but he didn’t want to be treated like some fragile person. In the beginning, he thought it was perfectly natural to do this for his husband. But now…

Now, he didn’t think he could do this.

\--

_“I’m home!” Shiro called out as_ he walked through the door. “Keith?”

“In here.” Keith was just finishing up dinner. There wasn’t any progress in the pregnancy, but he already felt a pit growing inside him as heavy as lead.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Shiro grinned and gave him a kiss. “How was work?”

“Long,” he huffed and started setting the table. “Eat up.”

Shiro gave him a long look. “Are you okay? You look a little flushed.”

“I’m fine.” He smiled. “Let’s just eat.”

Shiro agreed but kept looking up at him while they were eating. He seemed to get an idea something was wrong. Keith just hoped he wasn’t drawing too much attention to himself.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” Keith insisted, trying to stay calm. “I just…”

Shiro finished his food and moved closer. “Baby, talk to me.”

He looked up at him. “I’m really nervous, Shiro.”

“About what?” he asked gently. “Is it the baby?”

He knew Shiro didn’t know yet and was just speaking hypothetically. He simply nodded his head. “I mean, it’s a lot. Anything can go wrong, Shiro. And I don’t want people to act like I’m breakable, either. There’s just no middle ground.”

“Well, you’re not going through this alone,” he reminded. “I’m here every step of the way, especially if something goes wrong, which it won’t. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. And I only want to do this if you want this, too.”

Keith worried his lip. “I mean, I want this. I agreed to it and all… But it’s just knowing that it’s really happening and that there’s no going back. What if I’m not a good dad?”

“What are you talking about? You’ll be a great dad!” Shiro grinned.

He slumped and lowered his head. “I guess we’ll find out in about eight months.”

“Yeah, and that’s if it takes,” Shiro teased. When Keith didn’t say anything, he turned his head. He gave him a long look. “Wait. Keith?”

He took Shiro’s hands, holding them tight. “Shiro, it took. I’m pregnant.”

He grinned in delight and held him in his arms. “Keith! Oh, that’s wonderful! It’s really happening?”

“Yes,” he laughed and gave him a kiss. “You’re going to be a dad.”

_“We’re_ going to be dads,” Shiro corrected. “We’re in this together, baby.”

“I love you,” he grinned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was definitely a lot more difficult than Keith thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for Miscarriage. Vanishing Twin Syndrome is common for a parent expecting multiples. Most of the time, it happens early in the first trimester so it goes completely undetected in most cases. I know how difficult the topic of miscarriages can be for some people, so you may feel free to skip this chapter.

_They were both excited the day_ of the first ultrasound. They’d waited several weeks for it.

Getting used to being pregnant was already difficult for Keith. He didn’t like the limitations nor the bloodwork. He hated the nausea with a bleeding passion, and he was far more exhausted than he’d ever been. He was also reluctant to tell his job, mostly because he’d passed so well to his coworkers that only HR knew he was trans to begin with. He didn’t feel comfortable sharing that.

However, he had to soon. He was only eleven weeks pregnant, and he already couldn’t fit in his pants. It was strange. Maybe he could talk to his doctor about it and see if he already needed to go on a weight management plan.

Everything started going south when they went in the OB/GYN. Every woman in the waiting room was staring at him, and their cis male partners passed a judgmental eye on them. Shiro just held Keith’s hand. Shiro hadn’t been to an OB/GYN since before he had his hysterectomy, but that experience was soul-crushing, to say the least.

Hell, Keith only went once for a pap smear and never went back. Now, he had to uncomfortably explain to receptionists and nurses that he had a right to be here and why. Probably the only person fighting for them in their corner was Keith’s new obstetrician, Dr. Vienna.

“Hey, dads.” She’d said that so simply when meeting them in the exam room. “Keith, how are you feeling?”

Keith shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

“I hope things look up for you soon,” she assured. “Are you excited to see the baby?”

“Yeah, pretty excited.”

Shiro smiled while kissing his cheek. “So am I.”

She smiled. “Just lie back, and in a moment we’ll all see what’s on this monitor here.” She gestured to it. “I know how unique your case is, so we’ll make extra sure that everything’s going well in there. We’re still at a stage where the likelihood of the baby staying is unpredictable.”

“I know,” Keith mumbled shyly. It was a thought that haunted him and kept him up every night.

“Do what you need to do.” Shiro gently rubbed Keith’s back.

Keith waited anxiously, holding his husband’s hand while the doctor prepped everything.

Dr. Vienna turned on the monitor, using the camera and rubbing it across Keith’s belly to see inside. Keith was honestly almost afraid to look. What he’d see would cement his future.

And what he saw was a glimpse of a future that he never thought he could handle.

“How many embryos were implanted?” She’d asked.

Shiro’s voice was shaky. “…Three.”

“Well, that makes more sense now,” she grinned. “Keith, how do you feel?”

Keith’s face was pale, wide eyes staring at three blobs that were supposed to be three separate babies growing within him.

“I’m gonna throw up.”

Keith started to panic. This wasn’t what he wanted. He only wanted one! Three were only put in there to ensure a more likely chance of _one_ baby thriving. Not all three!

“Keith?”

He heard Shiro’s voice while he was staring at the screen. The information was getting to him.

He fainted in the chair. It felt like he was only unconscious for two minutes, because when he woke up next, they were still in her office. He felt woozy and uncomfortable.

“Everything okay, Mr. Kogane?” Dr. Vienna asked gently.

“Three?!” He tried sitting up. “I only ordered one!”

“Keith,” Shiro gasped. “Baby, calm down. We can figure this out.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down.” Keith finally stood up. “You’re the one that was most on board with trying three! They’re all in there, are you happy now?”

Shiro’s expression changed, and he stepped back. “Keith…”

The obstetrician was hesitant to cut in again. “Keith, I think it’s best that you go home and get some rest. Come back here next week, and we can check your progress and take the steps you need to get started with parenting skills.” She handed Shiro a card. “This is a company that offers parenting classes of all kinds. The instructor’s certified, she’s a great friend of mine, and she is queer friendly. She even offers a once-a-week class for parents expecting multiples.”

“That’s very helpful,” Shiro insisted. “Thank you so much.”

They stepped out together, with more judgment placed on them by the patients waiting. Keith was desperate to leave, needing air.

Shiro wasn’t going to let him off that easily. “What the hell was that, Keith?”

Keith frowned. “What, you’re not gonna let me be shocked about this?”

“Shocked is one thing. Keith, I didn’t know that they were all going to take. If I did, we wouldn’t have done that.” He sighed. “I told you that I didn’t want you to do this if you were going to regret it.”

“I didn’t regret it,” he snapped. “But this is completely different! When I agreed to this, we both were expecting no results and just hoping at least one makes it. I’m not having a baby, Shiro. I’m having a fucking litter!”

“Keith!” Shiro lightly placed his hands on his shoulders, despite the vehement agitation in Keith’s eyes. “I told you. No matter what happens, we’ll get through this together. Just now, instead of having one, we’ll have three beautiful babies to love. Isn’t that exciting?”

Keith frowned. “This wasn’t what I agreed to.” He stepped in his car and slammed the door.

He felt like he was being too harsh. Shiro was just trying to help him feel better, but Keith couldn’t do this. He really can’t! And what was he supposed to tell Shiro?

His husband looked a little sad sitting in the passenger seat. “Those parenting classes… I-I’ll go sign us up for them, okay?”

Keith just shrugged. “Do whatever you want. That’s why we’re doing this.”

“Okay,” he frowned. “There’s one for multiples. Let’s do that one. And later on, we’ll sign up for the Lamaze classes.”

Keith stared down at his stomach during the car ride. For a fleeting moment, he started to regret this. Triplets was not what he signed up for. And in that moment, he wished that he didn’t have them all growing in there while Shiro was excitedly rambling about getting everything ready for all three of them when he thought the tension had eased.

However, after that day, Keith was more disinterested than ever. He skipped appointments and flaked out when he was supposed to get ready for those stupid parenting classes. He started not to really care, even when Shiro had brought home three matching bassinets. Keith started to hate this, and Shiro knew it. He just didn’t want to argue with him about it anymore.

\--

_Keith was doing normal household chores_ when it happened. He forced himself to take it easy so Shiro wouldn’t hover, but he started feeling crampy. These cramps were so strange, resembling when he used to regularly get periods.

Shiro was in the shower, so Keith just waited for him to get out. He had a hand on his belly and glowered down at himself.

“You’re all causing more trouble than you’re worth,” he mumbled.

Another cramp made him wince, and his body froze when he felt a strange sensation in his pants.

He was quick to knock on the bathroom door. “Shiro?!”

“Keith, I’ll be out in a sec,” Shiro called as he turned off the water, sounding annoyed.

“Shiro! Something’s wrong,” he gasped. “Please, open the door!”

Shiro waited a moment before doing so. “Babe, what happened?”

“I-I don’t know, I…” Keith yanked his pants down, and seeing spots of blood was what made his stomach churn.

Shiro looked just as scared. “Keith. H-how badly does it hurt?”

“I’m cramping. Shiro, I don’t feel well.” His eyes started wandering.

“Let’s get you back to the doctor.” Shiro helped him outside. “A little blood could mean anything, not just a miscarriage.”

Saying the word made it feel more real. Keith knew how badly he hated having triplets, but it’d only been less than two weeks since he found out. He didn’t think his disdain for the situation would kill the babies.

Keith couldn’t stop sobbing on the way there, the weight of it crushing him. He wasn’t in much pain anymore… just shock and devastation. He ruined this. He ruined this chance for having kids. The guilt he felt right then was indescribable.

Dr. Vienna took their situation very seriously. She set up for another ultrasound to see what was wrong. The exam had Keith holding his breath. He almost didn’t want to look.

When the ultrasound began, there were heartbeats.

He heard Shiro sighing in relief and felt a kiss in his hair, but Keith hated what he saw. There were now only two little blobs.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kogane,” Dr. Vienna started. “It’s very common in early stages of pregnancy to have what is called vanishing twin syndrome. Sometime during the past couple weeks, the third baby stopped growing. The bleeding will stop shortly, but the other two babies have strong heartbeats. They seem like they’re growing just fine. But to make sure, I’ll schedule another follow-up to see how they’re doing.”

Keith stopped listening. All he kept thinking was that it was his fault.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” She stepped out of the room, and Keith started to cry once more.

“This was all my fault,” he whimpered. “I-I’d been so disinterested and mean. Shiro…”

His husband shook his head and held him close. “Sweetheart, I know how hard you took the news. I know how upset you were. None of this was your fault. You heard her. These things happen all the time, Keith.”

“You’re not mad at me?” he murmured, wiping his eyes. “I-I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“I’d never be mad at you over this.” Shiro’s eyes were misty as he kissed him. “I was so excited that we were having a family together, and I was just hoping you’d come around. But maybe having triplets just wasn’t meant to be. We’ll still be wonderful parents to beautiful twins.”

He sniffled and held onto him. “I’m so sorry, Shiro.”

“Don’t be…” He hugged him. “I love you. You’re still the strongest person I know. There’ll always be a special place in my heart for the little baby we won’t get to meet, and we and our twins will live for them in the best way.”

“I promise. I’ll take everything more serious, okay?”

“Keith… losing the baby isn’t a punishment,” he frowned. “You’re not being punished. This happens all the time. We just have to be a little more careful now, so that this doesn’t happen again, okay?”

Keith still felt guilty but nodded his head. He was devastated, but he knew he still had the twins to care for now.

Dr. Vienna ordered that he had to take several weeks off work now and be on bed rest. From that point on, his attitude had changed. Keith still thought he wouldn’t be a good dad, especially after that, but he knew taking care of the twins had to be his top priority.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the very first night of their parenting class. They already get some push back from people too ignorant to see them as a growing family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning for transphobia. The situation is neutralized in the best way possible: if you're a dickhead to someone, you get treated like you're dickheads and excluded. Moral of the story: Don't be a blatant dickhead. And transphobes deserve to be ostracized and mocked. That is all.  
> Regardless, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> There's also sex owo

_“Babe, the class starts in five_ minutes!”

“I know when it starts,” Keith grumbled and paid attention to the road. “We’re almost there.”

After they’d lost their one baby, they were far more active in keeping up with appointments. Now, they were headed to their class. Keith still grieved every day and panicked over the idea of losing the other two babies, but he hoped that being surrounded by other expecting parents who also had twins would be helpful for him. Even though they weren’t having triplets anymore, twins were still a lot of work.

He was at fourteen weeks, and he hoped in vain that his morning sickness would die down. People at his job still didn’t know what was going on. He was pretty sure his mom didn’t even know either. Did he call her?

“Keith, right there.”

He almost missed the turn and tensed as he pulled in.

“Now, relax,” Shiro assured. “Sure, there will be different people, but we’re here for the same reason. Making sure our babies are taken care of when they’re born is important.”

“I know all that.” Keith frowned and stepped out of the car, rolling his eyes. “C’mon. We’ll be late.”

Shiro trailed right behind him and held his hand. “It’ll be fun!”

“We’ll see,” Keith sighed.

When they stepped in, there were already dozens of couples here conversing with one another. Keith immediately grew shy and uncomfortable.

The instructor’s name was Romelle. She stood towards the front of the studio, and the expanse of it was mostly tables and chairs. She had her desk in the front.

“Excuse me?” Shiro called to her as they approached. “Hi.”

“Hi, welcome,” Romelle grinned. “Did you register already?”

“Yes, we did.” He smiled. “We’re the Shiroganes.”

“Oh!” Romelle looked at the two of them. “You must be Keith, then. Hello! Welcome to the class.”

“Hi.” Keith waved shyly. “I appreciate you not seeing us as… y’know, strange.”

“Never!” she gasped. “Trans and queer parents are always welcome in my classes.”

“Thank you.” Shiro smiled and shook hands with her. “We’re happy to be here.”

“Have a seat anywhere you like. New couples introduce themselves to the class and often talk about their experience so far. I hope that’s alright.”

“No trouble at all,” Shiro assured.

Keith wasn’t sure about that himself. However, if Romelle’s classes were LGBTQ+ friendly, then there shouldn’t be anything wrong with them sharing their unique case, right?

The class began once everyone settled down. Romelle happily waved to the group. “Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Expecting Multiples Parenting class!” she smiled. “This week, we’ll be talking more about different ways to alleviate your discomforts being pregnant with multiples, as well as share time management skills for once they’re born. But first, we have a new couple joining us today. Please, give them your attention as they introduce themselves.”

All eyes were on them now. Keith could’ve sworn one couple looked displeased, but Keith blamed that on being nervous. They both stood up.

“Hi, everyone,” Shiro waved. “I’m Shiro, and this is my husband, Keith. We’ve been married for two years.”

Keith didn’t know what to say, so he just waved, feeling bashful.

“Uh… well, we’re both trans men, so our case is actually pretty unique.” Shiro smiled.

How could he be so open about this? Keith was still too embarrassed to say anything.

“Regardless of being trans, Keith’s still pregnant with my children. So, a few years back, I’d had my eggs harvested, and when it came time that we decided we wanted children, Keith wanted to carry them himself instead of us finding a surrogate mother. So, that’s why we’re here.”

Keith started to realize that Shiro only wanted to educate this group of people about different ways to start families, but Keith was still a little embarrassed. He loved his husband so much, but the pride that he took in their little success story was almost too much sometimes.

One woman was looking at them curiously. “So, how many are you having?”

“Triplets—” Keith blushed when he caught himself. It was still impulsive yet painful to mention. “O-or, we were having triplets, but now it’s just twins.”

That judgmental couple Keith was suspicious of then had the floor. “Serves you right, thinking you could carry all of them. It won’t be long before the rest go with it.”

Keith’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”

Shiro held his hand tightly.

The wife crossed her arms. “Also, where do you get off saying that your experience is anything like ours? Only women get pregnant, so are you really a man?”

“Yes, he is,” Shiro muttered. “We both are.”

The husband scoffed. “You’re no man. You’re just lesbians pretending to be men.”

“What?!” Keith’s legs nearly gave out from the sheer ignorance of that statement.

“Just say you’re the kids’ mom, Shiro,” he chuckled. “You have no sperm. You’re no dad. And Keith, if that’s really your name, you’re just the surrogate mother with no relation at all.”

“That’s enough!” Romelle stepped forward. “I let you two talk long enough. Mr. and Mrs. Leeds, get out of my class!”

“What?” Mrs. Leeds laughed. “We’ve been going here for four months, and you’re taking these loonies’ side?”

“Transphobia is never welcome here,” she muttered. “Get out! Never come back.”

Mr. Leeds growled as they stood up. “Let’s go. Why do we need advice from a lady that doesn’t even have kids, anyways?”

“Out!” She followed them out, gesturing them forward. “There’s the door. Don’t let it hit you on the way out. See ya!” She slammed it shut when they left. She looked mortified when she turned back to face the class. She rushed back over. “Shiro, Keith, I’m so deeply sorry. They’re never welcome back here. Are you two okay?”

Shiro sighed. “We’ve definitely been better. Thank you for intervening.” He looked at Keith.

Keith meanwhile was on the verge of tears. Normally, transphobia that ignorant and that blatant would just roll off his back, but he kept thinking over and over about what they said.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay…” Shiro seemed to notice as they both sat down.

“Can we go home?” Keith asked sadly.

“Oh, please don’t,” one of the women pleaded. “This really is a good class. We won’t judge you here, will we?”

“No way.” Another lady waved her hand. She was so far along that she didn’t bother to stand. “There was a sweet couple that used to come to his class who were a cis and trans woman. I think we just found out why they stopped coming.”

“Yeah.” The first woman huffed. “Sweet ladies. I’ll have to call them and tell them the Leeds are gone. I’ve always thought they were bad news.”

That didn’t make Keith feel better, but he decided to stay.

“I haven’t even introduced myself,” the first woman gasped. “I’m Allura. My husband Lance and I are having twins too.”

“And I’m Shay,” said the second woman. “Hunk and I are having twins.”

“Nice to meet you,” Shiro smiled. “Thanks for being so nice.”

“And thank you,” Romelle smiled and clasped her hands together. “Okay. Now that we’d weeded out the weak, let’s start the class.”

The first discussion was about easing discomforts. Keith didn’t even realize that the aches he felt in his back and legs could easily be alleviated until here.

“Typical pregnancy discomforts when laying down or moving around multiply when you have twins or more,” Romelle had said. “Learning how to manage those discomforts and having your partner help once you get bigger can ease them.”

Time management skills were also a big fear Keith had. He’d be the dad to fuck up when both the babies need changing, but Romelle as well as some experienced parents in the group had all the answers to his questions. For a while, he nearly forgot about the transphobic couple from earlier. But now, as the class started to end, it started to really impact him again.

Shiro was cool and collected the whole time. He didn’t show any hurt in his eyes and was so engaged when speaking to anyone. Keith, meanwhile, hadn’t spoken the entire class.

“Please, come again,” Romelle insisted with a smile. “You two are such a delight.”

“We will,” Shiro promised. “Thank you, Romelle.”

When they got to their car, however, Shiro’s demeanor changed. He was quiet the whole ride. Keith didn’t know what to say either, looking down at his lap. There was a heavy weight over them.

When they got home, Shiro took a long hot shower. When Keith passed by the bathroom door, he heard him crying.

He knew it.

“Babe?” Keith knocked on the door. “Shiro, can I come in?”

He didn’t say a word, but the door was unlocked. He quietly opened the door.

“Shiro?”

There was a fog in the bathroom from how hot the water was. Keith was quick to pull the curtains open and turn it off. Shiro’s skin was red in areas the water hit him the most, and he was bunched up in the tub. Keith struggled to reach down and hold him.

“Hey… Shiro, it’s okay. Baby, talk to me.”

Shiro had started to calm down the moment Keith intervened. He wrapped his arm around him, starting to shiver. “How could he just say that? H-how could he say you’re not our babies’ parent at all? That’s n-not true. And I-I’m not their mother.”

“Shiro…” Keith rubbed his back, feeling his eyes water as well. “They’re both wrong about us. We’re our babies’ dads. It doesn’t matter if some children’s author gave us their sperm. We’re still their dads. Always.”

“I-I know.” He sniffled and looked up at him. “I’m more worried about you.”

“Why?” He looked at him. “You shouldn’t be this upset worried about me, baby. I’m okay.”

“I saw how you looked when they said those things,” Shiro started nervously. “I-I didn’t want you to believe those things. You are their parent. You always will be.”

He looked down. “I-I mean… technically, they’re right. I’ll never really be related to them.”

“Stop that,” Shiro said quickly. “It doesn’t matter what the ‘science’ is or whatever technicalities people want to bring up. You _are_ their parent. You _are_ their dad. You’re the one giving birth to them, for crying out loud! That’s more than enough qualifications to be their parent. By blood.”

Keith’s lip quivered. “They also said our baby dying is my fault…”

“It isn’t,” he reminded. “We already talked about that. You’re not to blame. You’re an amazing dad, Keith.”

“I-I wouldn’t say that.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He gave him a kiss. “I love you. You’re so selfless, compassionate, and strong.” He kissed him again. “You’re the father of my children. You’re so wonderful. So perfect.”

Keith whimpered in between kisses, the words sinking in. He felt Shiro pull him closer despite the tub acting as a barrier. Keith’s lips parted when feeling his tongue drag over his mouth, allowing him entry.

They pulled away when Keith grew lightheaded. Shiro stepped out of the tub, Keith ogling his body while he was helped up.

“How long has it been, my love?” Shiro frowned. “I don’t think we’ve had sex in ages.”

“Not even while we were waiting to get pregnant,” Keith confessed. “I-I was hoping you would.”

“Why?” he asked gently while leading him to the bedroom.

Keith blushed. “I… I’ve been horny for weeks.”

Shiro laughed a bit. “Baby…” He gave him another kiss. “I’m sorry. We have to fix that right away.”

That had every nerve in his body singing. Once by the bed, Keith quickly stripped himself of his clothes. He was already getting round, at four months pregnant. He worried that he didn’t look attractive. But the way that Shiro was looking at him right now told him otherwise.

“You look so good,” Shiro crooned and kissed his neck. “You’re going to look so pretty riding my dick, baby.”

“S-Shiro,” he whined softly. “Please. I-I want it…”

Shiro settled on his back, pulling Keith closer right on top of him as he grabbed the lube. He also grabbed his harness and Keith’s favorite dildo from their collection. It had so much girth and ridges that stimulated him in ways that the other toys just couldn’t give him.

“Tonight’s that kind of night, baby,” Shiro grinned.

Keith chuckled and helped Shiro put it on. With the large dildo positioned on his pelvis, Keith lowered his head to run his tongue along the shaft and take the tip into his mouth.

“Fuck, baby…” Shiro hummed and pushed his hips up when Keith’s head lowered further down. “You look so fucking gorgeous when you do that.”

Keith simply hummed around him, cheeks hollowed out as he bobbed his head. The cock was so large that he could never fit the whole thing in his mouth, but he was glad to make Shiro happy.

“Baby, c’mere,” Shiro gasped. “Come up here, baby.”

He pulled up, breath shaky as he wiped drool off his chin. Shiro had his fingers slicked with lube, and when Keith hovered his hips over Shiro’s belly, he trembled as he felt Shiro’s fingers on him almost immediately. They stroked his cock with fervor, and one finger so easily pushed inside him.

Keith whined and arched his back best he could, shaking as Shiro continued filling up his hole with finger after finger. It felt euphoric to be a man his husband desired no matter what he looked like, and he hoped this was helping Shiro, too.

“Ah!” Keith gasped when Shiro began really fucking him with his fingers, pushing them deeper into his sex on each thrust. His legs were shaking above him.

“Shiro—I-I need more. P-please!”

Shiro just laughed underneath him. “You’re so cute when you beg.”

“Baby!” Keith pouted. It really was that kind of night.

“Well, I can’t help if I don’t know what you need.”

“More!” Keith ground down on his fingers, still pouting like a child.

Shiro grinned. “That doesn’t help me much.”

“I need your cock,” he whimpered. “I-I need it.”

“You need it where?”

Frustrated, Keith blushed and held his chest. “I-I need it… inside me,” he gasped. “Please.”

Shiro’s smile widened. “Now, was that so hard?”

Keith was still shaking, especially when Shiro pulled his fingers out. He brought them to his lips to taste, and Keith shivered. He panted and hovered himself over the toy. Shiro did the honors and pressed the tip against him, teasing his folds and just barely pushing in.

“B-babyyy,” Keith whined. “Please!”

Shiro guided Keith’s hips down. He was shaking while lowering himself down.

“Fuck,” he gasped.

“That’s it, baby,” Shiro grinned. “Keep fucking yourself on my cock. Show me how much you want it.”

Keith was shaking while starting up a pace. The cock was so huge that he was already seeing stars, shaking hard and rocking his hips up and down best he could.

“Good boy,” Shiro crooned.

Keith whimpered when feeling Shiro’s hand on his belly once Keith got a good rhythm. He shivered and looked down at Shiro. “Oh, baby… I-it’s so good.”

“You’re amazing,” Shiro moaned, rocking his hips up in a way that made Keith see stars.

"Yes!" he cried. “B-baby, yes!”

Shiro grinned. “F-fuck…” He moved his hand to quickly stroke his cock. “That’s it, baby.”

“Oh! Shirooo, I’m gonna… Fuck, I-I’m so close!” Keith cried, hips gyrating hard against his cock.

With that, Shiro kept stroking him, his hand moving faster and faster. Keith couldn’t help himself. He felt his cunt tighten around the toy, and the next thing he knew he was squirting on Shiro’s hand, sprays reaching up his husband’s chest while he writhed above him with a scream.

He nearly collapsed on top of Shiro, cries tapering off into sobs. Shiro’s hand was relentless, even after Keith gathered the strength to ease himself off. His breathing was still ragged, and his hands were shaking while he undid the harness Shiro wore and shucked it off him. He pressed kisses against Shiro’s skin in between breaths, blushing when tasting his slick and come on his tongue.

“Baby…” Shiro hummed and stroked his hair. “Keith, you’re so good.”

Keith grinned up at him. He still couldn’t feel his legs, shaking all over. He spread Shiro’s legs and bent them back, moaning into his flesh.

“You’re so hard,” he gasped. “You need to come, doesn’t you?”

“You have no idea.” Shiro grinned down at him and tugged on his hair.

Keith’s lips stopped at his husband’s crotch, and he moaned while eagerly running his tongue over his sex. His lips curled around his dick. Shiro moaned as Keith sucked him off, keeping a good hold on his hair. His chest heaved.

“F-fuck yes, baby. I’m right there.”

Keith hummed and buried his face in further, tongue sucking on his cock. He watched as Shiro trembled, body rocking up hard into his mouth. Shiro came while his back arched, finally letting go of his hair. Keith was still tasting him and grinned when his hips started to shy away from him. He started to sit up and wiped his mouth.

“You always taste so good,” he crooned. “I love you.”

Shiro held him closer. “Kiss me.”

Keith did so eagerly, feeling Shiro pull the blankets over them before they snuggled closer. A strange sensation in his belly made him stop, and he started to sit up.

“What’s the matter?” Shiro glanced up. “Are you okay?”

Keith felt something again and stifled a laugh. “They’re moving.”

“Really?” Shiro smiled and sat up as well. “Where?”

Keith eagerly brought his hand to his belly, right where he felt them. After a second, there was another light flutter. “There!” he grinned. “Did you feel that?”

Shiro pursed his lips and shook his head. “No…”

“It might be too early, then,” he sighed and kissed him happily. “That’s how they say they love you.”

“Aww, you’re adorable,” Shiro smiled and guided him back to lie down. “You really are such a good dad, Keith.”

Keith looked down, modest. “I’m not doing much of anything.”

“Don’t talk like that,” he crooned. “You’re doing something very important for them. You’re making sure they’re healthy and safe. And you do it so well, baby.”

He blushed and nuzzled his shoulder. “I guess that’s pretty good.”

“It’s amazing,” Shiro kissed his forehead.

Keith smiled, starting to drift off when he had a sobering though. “Shiro?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

He bit his lip. “…I never told my mom.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith belatedly tells his mother about his pregnancy. At the same time, the environment of his and Shiro's parenting class becomes much healthier. That doesn't necessarily mean that Keith was now a natural at handling babies. Probably far from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having SUCH difficulty posting this chapter for some reason?? I hope that now it's visible.
> 
> The story is now at its halfway point, based off the word count from the twitter thread being transferred to the doc. I don't know how many more chapters it'll be, but regardless, I hope you enjoy!

_Keith’s mom was a successful writer_ and often went away on book tours. She’d be gone for months at a time, but he was so proud of her. She was coming back from a tour today, and Keith felt awful that she was going to get the shock of a lifetime.

He’d invited her over and cleaned up the place. He locked up the bedroom that used to be a guest room but now was becoming a nursery. But it wasn’t like she wouldn’t notice.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell her!” Shiro gasped as they cleaned up.

“I forgot!” he confessed. “Hey, a lot happened in the past few months.”

“Yeah, but she still deserved to know!”

“I know, I know,” Keith snapped. “Stop making me feel guilty.” He heard his phone ring and jumped. “It’s her!” he hurried and reached to answer it. “Mom, hey!” he grinned, already breathless. The twins took up a lot more energy than he thought.

 _“Hi, Keith,”_ Krolia hummed over the phone. _“I’m almost there. I brought you two something from Munich. I hope you’ll like it.”_

“Great to hear,” he insisted. “Mom, listen. When you get here, I have a surprise for you too.”

 _“I love surprises,”_ she chuckled. _“Are you okay? Were you running?”_

“No, I’m fine,” he said. “Just… please, don’t freak out when you get here.”

_“Freak out? Honey, what’s going on?”_

“Nothing bad,” he assured. “I’ll explain everything when you get here.”

_“I’m only a couple minutes away. I’ll see you in a bit.”_

“Okay.” Keith hung up and began to panic. “Shiro, what if she gets mad? What if she doesn’t even wanna be a grandmother? What do I do?”

“The first thing you should do is relax.” Shiro gently placed his hands on his shoulders. “Nothing you’d do would make her mad. Everything will be fine. Just relax, get changed, and we’ll both talk to her when she gets here.”

“Okay,” he stammered, giving him a kiss. “O-okay.”

“Relax,” Shiro chided, and they then heard a knock at the door.

“She’s here!” Keith started to panic again.

“Alright, alright. Remember what I told you. Go ahead and get changed. I’ll let her in.”

“Okay.” Keith nervously stepped into their room. As he got dressed, he heard Shiro happily greet her and tell her to sit on the couch. He was near to tears from anxiety. Why couldn’t he have just told her? He’d been pregnant for four months!

He self-consciously wiped his eyes and stepped out of his room. “Mom!” he called while she couldn’t see him.

“Keith, come on out!” he heard her laugh. “I want to know what your surprise is. I bet it’s a big one.”

“I-it sure is…” Keith grew jittery and stepped closer. “Now, promise you won’t freak out.”

“Keith. You’re making me nervous.” He heard the frown in her voice. “Did you get a tattoo on your face?”

 _I wish._ “No, nothing like that.” He bit his lip. “I’m coming out.

When Keith stepped into view, he had a hand on his rounding belly in hopes it wouldn’t look as big. He looked at his mother and gave her a shy wave. “Hey, Mom…”

Krolia stared at him, shocked and in disbelief. “Keith?” She stood up. “Keith, is that what I think it is?”

His face turned a deep red. He was a little embarrassed and guilty. “Yeah, Mom. I’m pregnant.”

“I… when? How?” She looked at them both. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I-I’m sorry.” Keith stepped back. The more upset he got, the more tears he felt. “I’m really sorry. I-I wanted to tell you. I feel so stupid.”

“Keith…” She took his hands. “I know I’m away a lot, but I want to be a part of your life. You’re my son, and I love you so much.”

“I love you too. I never wanted you to feel like you weren’t in my life. I-I just… I’m going through so much, and a lot of things happened, and I need you. Please.”

“Baby, of course,” she sighed. “Well… I have a lot of questions right now, but I’m here for you. I promise.”

He gave her a big hug, relieved as she held him close.

“First question. It’s a pretty big one.” Krolia looked him over. “Exactly how did this happen?”

“I had embryos implanted…” Keith blushed. “Shiro’s eggs, some John’s sperm.”

“Wait, eggs? As in, plural?”

Shiro nodded. “We had three implanted, and they all took.”

“Keith! You’re having triplets?!”

Keith’s shoulders slumped. “W-we were. But it’s twins, mom. I lost one of the babies.”

“Oh, Keith…” She hugged him tighter. “Sweetheart. Are the other two okay?”

He nodded, still forlorn. “They’re both healthy. The doctor said that sometimes it just happens. But I still feel really bad.”

“Don’t…” Krolia guided him to sit down. “You must’ve been so stressed.”

He nodded. “The dysphoria doesn’t help either. But I wanted to do this. It uh… it makes me feel good, knowing I’m so involved in starting our family.”

“Well, of course, you are!” she grinned. “You’re playing the most important role.”

Shiro sat down with them. “We’ve already had some challenges… Our first night at our parenting class, this couple didn’t take our roles seriously.”

“Screw them,” she scoffed. “Shiro, you’re their father. You played such a big part in this, too.”

Keith rested his head on her shoulder. “So, you’re not upset?”

“Of course, I am,” she laughed. “You waited this long to tell me.”

He blushed. “S-sorry.”

“I’m kidding,” she grinned. “Look at you! How far along are you?”

“Four months.” He settled back. “When do you go back on tour?”

She smiled and held him. “I think I’m going to stay home for a little while and look out for you. I want to be here when they’re born.”

“Okay.” Keith grinned. “I’d love that.”

Shiro smiled. “Do you two need drinks? Something to eat?”

Keith eagerly nodded. “Yeah, I’m starving.”

“I’ll just take some water.” Krolia kept close to her son.

Keith was so content now that the tension had eased. Having Krolia home with them was all he could ever hope for.

\--

 _The couple that’d stopped coming to_ the parent class thanks to the Leeds arrived at the latest meeting. Their names were Zethrid and Ezor.

Ezor looked like she was ready to pop, and Ezor looked like a proud mama and a force to be reckoned with in one package. Keith liked them a lot, and he was glad that he got the chance to meet them.

Romelle was excited, too. “Alright, everyone. We’re practicing with dolls today!”

“Sounds dangerous,” Keith teased.

Ezor laughed breathlessly. “Just a couple sneezes, and I’ll give you dolls to play with.”

“Gross,” he laughed, trying to pay attention to Romelle.

She gave each couple two dolls to practice with, and an extra one to the one couple expecting triplets. “Okay! Each doll has a ‘full’ diaper that needs to be properly changed. As soon as they’re done being changed, they need to be fed. And after they’re done with their feeding, they need baths. Each parent has to do this to both babies. This isn’t a race. However, the first couple to successfully complete these tasks in order without dropping their babies will get the biggest chocolate basket.” She gestured over to the many baskets by her desk, the largest one full of extra goodies like bath products and spa treatments. “And, one more thing. They need to be turned on. After you press the switches on their backs, you may begin. If you drop them, you start over.”

“Oh dear.” Keith grew nervous. “Shiro, you go first.”

“Okay,” he chuckled.

As soon as they turned the switches on, both baby dolls started letting out loud cries. Everyone’s dolls were crying and screaming at the same time, making Keith tense.

“God, they sound so shrill.”

“Just like the real thing.” Shiro held the babies in his arms and stood over their table. “First, I have to change them.” He was deeply focused, carefully handling each doll while gathering up their supplies to change the diapers. “This isn’t so bad.”

Keith watched. “Beginner’s luck, probably.”

Shiro stuck his tongue out at him. He made changing them look so easy, but he looked a little silly holding both of them while getting their bottles ready. “Keith, can you hold one of them while I prep the bottles?”

“Nope!” Romelle cut in. “Keith’s busy doing grocery shopping. He’s not home. You’re here alone with the babies. You have to learn how to manage the tasks by yourself.”

“Damn.” Shiro chuckled as she walked off. “Okay…” He took a towel and set one doll down, wrapping it up a little. “Okay, you’re resting now. Lemme feed your twin.”

Keith laughed a bit and watched. Shiro went through the motions, burping each baby too once they were fed.

“Bath time!” he insisted eagerly, and this time he had no issues doing one at a time. He even kept the resting twin occupied while bathing the other. “Who’s a good baby? You are!”

Keith grinned. “Now you’re just being silly.”

“All done!” Shiro cheered. “It’s your turn now, Keith.”

“Oh.” He stopped smiling when Shiro handed him the dolls. They were both crying and screaming. All he heard was crying and screaming. “O-okay.”

He looked down at them, biting his lip as he set them down on the table. One of the dolls was a little too close to the edge, and Keith’s heart stopped when it slid down to the floor.

“S-shit!” He felt his eyes on him already, and he hurried to pick the one doll up. In the process, he brushed the other one off the table, as well. He was mortified.

“It’s alright, baby,” Shiro encouraged. “It’s only practice. Just start over.”

“Okay…” He picked them both up, setting them back on the table. They were both so loud! “Alright, babies…” He felt kind of dumb talking to the dolls. “Time to get changed.”

Keith kept getting distracted. When he tried changing one, the other one’s crying would throw him off. He tried giving himself a pep talk in his head.

“Okay, okay…” he mumbled once he finished. He needed to feed them now. He tried doing what Shiro did and held them both in his arms while reaching for the bottle across the table. In the process, he dropped one of the dolls again.

He felt sick to his stomach.

“Keith, it’s okay. Just start again.”

“I keep dropping them!” Keith broke and set them both down flat on the table. “They won’t shut up, and I keep dropping them! You take care of them!”

Romelle heard them and walked over. “Keith, Shiro already had his turn. This is just an exercise.”

“An exercise Shiro passed with flying colors.” Keith’s stomach turned. “I’m not good at this. I keep dropping them!”

“You’re thinking about it too much.” Romelle grabbed one of the blankets to wrap a doll in it. “Just do it one at a time. Remember what we learned about time management.”

He was still panicking. All he kept thinking about was that if those dolls were really his babies, he would’ve killed them. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.” Shiro smiled. “Keith, you’ve got this.”

The more he tried, the more miserable he felt. He tried taking it slow, but he was still dwelling n it. The crying was irking him, and he took more irritated breaths than he’d like to admit. He didn’t talk to them. That added too much work. He fed them with the same technique Shiro used, and when it came time to bathe them, Allura and Lance had already been rewarded the giant basket.

Keith and Shiro were the last ones to finish, because Keith dropped one of the dolls again.

“Excellent job, everyone,” Romelle grinned. “You’re all getting the hang of this, and we’ll have another chance to do this exercise next month.”

Keith stared down at the floor. He could already feel tears from the panic, guilt, and stress that came from the lesson. He was going to drop his babies. If Shiro wasn’t home, having Keith alone with them would be a walking hazard. He felt like the worst father in the world.

“Alright, I’ll see you all next week!” Romelle waved them off. “Good job, again!”

Keith was out the door before Shiro could stand up. He didn’t want to stay in there, feeling humiliated. He was the worst parent in the group—hell, in the world. No one else had dropped the dolls.

“Keith, wait up!” Shiro followed. “Baby, it wasn’t that bad.”

“Oh, really?” Keith cried while standing next to the car. “If those babies were real and you weren’t home, they’d be dead!”

“Keith, stop it.” Shiro frowned. “It’s supposed to be a hard exercise. It’s practice. You’ve never done it before. You dropping them today doesn’t mean anything.”

“No one else dropped them! You never did it before, and you didn’t drop them!” Keith rubbed his eyes harshly as they grew blurry. “Fuck! I-I was stupid to think I could do this. I can’t take care of the babies!”

“That’s why we’re here!” Shiro argued. “This is a parenting class, baby. It’s all part of learning and practicing for the real thing. You’ll get better at it in time.”

“And what if I don’t?” he sniffled. “W-what if I don’t get better? What if I get too stressed from the crying and tell them to shut up? What if I drop one of them for real? I-I want to be a good dad, but I’m so horrible at this.”

He started crying when Shiro held him, not even caring that they were still in the middle of the parking lot.

“I promise… I swear on my life, you will never drop our babies. Okay?” Shiro rubbed his back. “This is all practice for the real thing. By the time they’re born, you’ll already be a master at time management and keeping them both safe while taking care of one after the other. That was the point of the exercise. As for the crying… well, doing the exercise is going to help with that too. And you gotta remember, there are dozens of those freaky little things going off at the same time. I think that added stress is supposed to make it easier when they’re born and it feels like you hear dozens of them. And besides, you’ll only hear two babies when you do the real thing. And you’d never yell at them.”

“You say that now…” Keith took a shaky breath. “I’m scared, Shiro. The closer to the due date we get, the more terrified I am about fucking this up.”

“It’s okay to be scared.” Shiro nuzzled his hair. “I’m scared too, baby. But we’re going to get through this together. And by the time they’re born, we’ll both be the most amazing dads and know exactly what to do. That’s why we’re in this class.”

Keith started to calm down, wiping his eyes. “Thank you… I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”

“I’m always here for you, sweetheart.” Shiro kissed him happily. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he smiled. “I’m going to be better next time. I promise.”

“That’s the spirit.” Shiro helped him in the car.

“Besides…” He pursed his lips. “I really want to win that big basket.”

Shiro laughed as they began their drive home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Keith's pregnancy progressed, he was facing fears the closer he was getting, as well as struggles from work as he tried to get on leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for a panic attack from gender dysphoria and work-related transphobia.
> 
> Hey, it's been a while! I'd wanted all the updates for this one done already since the story's long since been finished. But, better late than never! I hope you enjoy this update.

_“It’s really weird.”_

_“What is?” Dr._ Vienna asked curiously.

His eyes were still glued to the screen. “They actually look like tiny people now.”

“That’s a good thing,” she laughed as she looked, as well. “Well dads, five months down, four more to go. How do you feel?”

“Excited,” Shiro grinned.

Keith had a different answer. “Kinda freaked out.”

“Well, get pumped! Just think, you’re more than halfway done.” She continued to move the camera. “Their primary sex characteristics are developed now. Would you two like to know what they are?”

Keith shook his head. “I want it to be a surprise.”

“How about you, Shiro?”

Shiro looked at his husband. “I feel the same way,” he said. “The babies’ sexes aren’t important to us right now.”

Keith nodded. “Besides, we have a gender neutral nursery planned. We’d feel much better if our family and friends didn’t know either. I wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret.”

“Okay,” she smiled. “Surprise, it is.”

They got a few pictures to take home, and Keith was so excited to go back. There was a bath with his name on it. “What color should we do the nursery?” Keith asked curiously.

Shiro pursed his lips. “I was thinking of lilac. That’s a soft color easy on the eyes.”

“Yeah,” he smiled. Keith started thinking about it more. “I don’t have an idea for a theme yet, but I also don’t want just some hodge podge either.”

“I think it’s good without a theme,” he assured. “Maybe we just need the nursery to make sense.”

“Okay.” He settled back. “I want them to be here.”

“Me too,” Shiro smiled, taking his hand and kissing it. “Just four more months.”

He nodded and closed his eyes, imagining his life with their babies.

\--

_That night, Keith had his first_ labor nightmare.

“First” would imply that he had multiple ones since then, which he did. Giving birth was becoming a harsher reality each day he was closer to his due date. He dreamed about the pain and about nurses and doctors staring down between his legs and laughing at his suffering. His dreams got worse and worse. Tonight’s really freaked him out.

He wasn’t dilating, and in a last stitch effort, the twins forced their ways out of him in a grotesque way that was ripped straight from _Alien._ But they didn’t escape from his stomach.

He shot up in a cold sweat when he awoke. It freaked him out so much that he burst to tears.

Shiro woke up as well, shifting closer. “Keith. Baby, are you alright?”

He shook his head as he sobbed. “I-I don’t want to give birth. I don’t want to! Please, I’m so scared!”

His face softened as he held him close. “Sweetheart… I would never ask that of you.” He gently rubbed his back. “I hate seeing you so terrified. Don’t worry, baby. We can talk to the doctor and see if we can plan a C-section ahead of time.”

“Really?” Keith felt relieved and wiped his eyes. “Okay. I-I want to do that.”

“Of course, we can.” He kissed him.

Keith nuzzled closer to him, still visibly shaken. “I wish they can just be here without me giving birth. Can’t they just invent something that teleports the babies out of the womb?”

Shiro smiled and rubbed his back. “I wish it was that easy.”

Keith sniffled while placing his hand on top of his. He nuzzled his shoulder, taking deep breaths. “Did you think of names yet?”

“Not yet,” he murmured. “You?”

Keith shook his head. “It’s hard to choose.”

“I know,” Shiro chuckled, “but there are plenty of gender neutral names.”

He nodded and sighed. “Parenting looks really good on you, Shiro.”

Shiro smiled and kissed his forehead. “I does on you too.”

As Keith relaxed, he jolted once more at a strange sensation in his belly. He’d been feeling the babies move for several weeks now, but this felt stronger. When he looked towards Shiro, Keith saw that his eyes were wide as he stared at his stomach.

“Did you feel that?” Keith gasped.

“Y-yeah,” he grinned. “They’re really moving in there.”

“Mhm.” Keith pulled the blankets over them both. “They can hear us now, too. Remember?”

Shiro nodded wistfully. “Keith, you’re so wonderful… such an amazing person.”

“Shiro…” He laughed and kissed him. “You’re feeling our babies kick for the first time, and your first thought is about me?”

“Well, yeah. It’s because of you that I can feel them right now. You didn’t have to do this. I will never let that go.”

“It’s really hard, most of the time,” he admitted. “But I wanted this. I chose to do this. You don’t have to feel any guilt over that. And it’s because of you that I’m able to do this.”

“I love you, Keith,” Shiro hummed. “I love you so much. You’re the most amazing dad in the world.”

“I love you too,” he grinned while kissing him. “And I’ll let you take second place.”

That made Shiro smile, and it was to the thought of their little ones being here with them that helped Keith fall back to sleep.

\--

_“Do they really still have to_ call it ‘maternity leave?’”

“Well, technically, you’re a mo—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Keith glared while staring down at paperwork. He needed to request his parental leave in advance, but by doing this, he had to officially out himself to everyone he worked with. HR was the only one who knew he was pregnant, and now Pidge, who almost just called him the dreaded “M” word.

Keith missed when he still passed as a man when his belly wasn’t as big. He’d always laughed off the questions of him gaining weight. _“Too much beer.” “Not enough cake in the office.” “A reaction to a new medication he was on… with most of the body weight channeled on my stomach.”_

However, with his third trimester coming with a vengeance, he couldn’t pretend or laugh it off anymore. He _looked_ pregnant. And everyone in the office was going to know he was trans sooner or later.

“What if they deny it?” Keith frowned. “What if they think I’m faking and denying it?”

“They can’t do that,” Pidge insisted. “Or, they shouldn’t. I know the world isn’t as accepting, but they’re not sadists.”

“If they do deny it, I will give birth right on their desk.” Keith nodded his head. “That’ll show ‘em.”

“First of all, that’s disgusting,” they grimaced. “Second, just don’t take no for an answer.”

“Easier said than done.” Keith heaved himself up. “Alright. I’m going down there.”

HR was his first stop. Ulaz had kept everything confidential ever since he started working here. It was his boss that he was worried about. Kolivan was a stoic man, and he’d often avoid him when possible under normal circumstances. This was indeed not normal.

“Ulaz?” Keith knocked on the HR office door. “Do you have a minute?”

“Yes, come in.” Ulaz even stood up and pulled the chair out for him. “Keith, how are you feeling?”

“Tired. And a little nervous.” Keith worried his lip. “I need to make sure my request for leave is approve.”

“Right.” He took his request form. “I know your pregnancy has been a private matter, but are you willing to let me discuss this with Kolivan?”

“Will it improve my chances for approval?” he asked hopefully.

“Improve?” he chuckled. “Keith, why do you think we’d deny this?”

“I-I don’t know. I guess I was worried Kolivan’s not going to believe me if I told him.”

“Well, he doesn’t live under a rock,” Ulaz said. “I even think he had some suspicions. It’s a little hard not to notice.”

“I know…” he blushed. “W-well, I give you permission anyway.”

“Terrific,” he smiled. “We’ll start the process right now.”

There was another knock at the door. “Ulaz?”

“Just a minute,” Ulaz called. “I’m with someone else.”

“It’s okay. I think my work here’s done.” Keith smiled and started heaving himself up from his chair.

“Ulaz, who’s the new hire?” Keith realized the guy waiting was Myzax, from sales. “Isn’t it a little weird to hire a pregnant lady when she’s not even going to be working for the next few months?”

Keith went stiff as he turned around, looking right at him.

Myzax took a long look at him and started to laugh. “I knew there was something weird about you. We all did,” he grinned. “What, was the glass ceiling too high, so you had to pretend to be a man?”

“Myzax.” Ulaz shot up.

“I’m not pretending anything.” Keith glared. “I’m more of a man than you are.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” he nodded, apathetic. “What’s your real name, Mommy?”

“Call me ‘Mommy’ again, and I’ll make you wish your mom swallowed you.”

“What are you gonna do?” he scoffed. “You need a real man to put you in your place.”

“Myzax!” Ulaz grew more stern. “You will not be speaking to another employee that way. Do you understand me?”

“Ulaz, I’ve been working here longer than she has. You’re gonna let her talk to _me_ like that?”

“Alright, that’s it.” Keith rolled his sleeves up. “Let’s go. Outside.”

“Sorry, I don’t hit girls.”

“Oh, right here? Fine, let’s go!” Keith clenched his fists and was ready to lunge at Myzax. This man was over six feet tall and looked like he ate dumbbells for breakfast, but a transphobe was a transphobe: they were all cockroaches.

He didn’t even realize there was a commotion around them until he felt strong arms hold him back. He thrashed in their grip, even with Kolivan now watching them.

Ulaz looked like he was ready to explode. “Myzax, in my office now. Or you’re fired.”

“No need!” Myzax raised his arms up. “I’m out of here. This place is going downhill. Kolivan, if you keep catering to these snowflakes, your company’s going down the toilet. Remember that.”

Keith watched him leave, his glare never once wavering. “Imagine having an ego that fucking shallow.”

“Keith.” Kolivan’s eyes narrowed. “You’re one foot out the door yourself.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong.” Pidge walked up to them. “Myzax provoked and harassed him.”

“Regardless, fights like this are not tolerated,” he frowned. “Keith, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“L-look, all I wanted was to go… on maternity leave.” That left a bad taste in his mouth. “That’s all I came into Ulaz’s office for. And the things Myzax said were hurtful…”

Kolivan sighed. “It was wrong of you to try and start the fight. However, Myzax’s views are not what this company stands for. He would’ve been fired anyways.”

Keith slumped back. “I’m sorry. It will never happened again.”

“Don’t be,” he shrugged. “I guess, if I was in your shoes, I would’ve done the same thing. I’ll look over your request with Ulaz. Minimum amount of time off is three months: one month before the due date, at least two months after the birth. You can take more time if you need to.”

“Really?” Keith genuinely felt relieved. “I’d never looked into this before. The benefits are really good here! Thank you, Kolivan.”

“Of course. But don’t push it. Buttering me up won’t make me forget about the fight.”

“Yes, Sir.” He blushed and stepped away.

“Hey, approval for leave and getting a transphobe to leave in one day!” Pidge grinned. “You’re like Superman!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I totally would’ve won the fight.”

“Definitely.”

When he told the story when he got home from work, Shiro didn’t approve.

“Keith, you can’t start fights this close to your due date.”

“But he called me ‘mommy!’” he huffed. “I would’ve knocked that fucker out with one punch.”

“Yes, dear.” Shiro looked so tired.

“I would’ve!”

“Keith. Your blood pressure…”

“Ugh.” He groaned and forced himself to calm down. “I would’ve won the fight.”

“Come have dinner.” Shiro led him to the table. “Let’s not talk about this anymore.”

“Agreed.” Keith slouched in his chair and began to eat.

Shiro pursed his lips. “So, wait. He called you a special snowflake… when he was the one that got mad at you for being a pregnant trans man?”

Keith had food in his mouth but raised his fork in agreement while he swallowed. “The cruel irony of a fragile transphobe.”

He shrugged. “Sucks to suck.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith hoped that they had enough rest for the big day, which is coming sooner than anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Childbirth

_He didn’t get any more shit_ from his coworkers after that. Good thing, too, because he didn’t actually want to get in a fight right now. To be clear, he’d win.

He was actually grateful the minimum amount of leave time was so long. Now that he was home, he was exhausted. He’d never been so tired in his life. Nor so hungry.

He was often home alone all day and would sneak a couple snacks. What Shiro didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Nearly everything was ready for the twins now. He often liked to settle down in the nursery and look around it.

On this particular day, Keith nearly dozed off in his new chair in the nursery. It was so comfortable that he could sleep in it all day. The only thing that woke him up was a quick knock at the door.

He was confused as he started to walk out to the living room. He wasn’t expecting any visitors.

“Coming!” he called, already winded. The extra weight took so much out of him, and his back ached constantly.

When he opened the door, several people were smiling and waiting to come in, holding bags and wrapped boxes.

“SURPRISE!” A bunch of them were from the parent class. He recognized Pidge too, and his mom was there with everyone.

“What’s all this?” he gasped.

“A baby shower!” Krolia grinned and stepped in first. “Shiro invited everyone and wanted to surprise you.”

“He did?” His heart melted. “O-okay. Everyone, come in.”

He sat on the couch and let them all file in. Allura was due around the same time Keith was, while Shay and now Ezor had their babies already. Ezor brought her newborn twins with her, her wife Zethrid holding them both.

“There are so many gifts.” He was shocked. “You didn’t have to do all this.”

“We wanted to!” Romelle looked delighted. “We’re here to make sure you have everything you need for when they get here.”

Keith didn’t even realize they needed this much. Most of the presents were diapers, bibs, and burping clothes. Shiro had requested them all bring gender neutral items, so Keith was very pleased to see even the clothes he was gifted for the babies were neutral.

“I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough supplies,” Keith admitted. “I’m glad you’re all here.”

Pidge grinned. “You deserve it!”

Keith watched Ezor hold one of her babies, smiling faintly. “They’re so cute.”

Ezor grinned. “You wanna hold her?”

He froze. “I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Zethrid chuckled. “Keith, a real baby is nothing like those freaky dolls. Trust me. You won’t drop her.”

“She’s right,” Ezor insisted. “I remember our very first exercise. Zethrid nearly cracked one of the dolls’ heads from how hard she’d dropped it on the table.”

“Hey!” she frowned. “You said you wouldn’t bring that up.”

“Anyways, Keith, you’ll do fine. Just hold her for a minute.”

Keith stammered as Ezor handed the newborn to him. He carefully supported her head and cradled her. “O-okay. This is really happening. I’m holding a baby.”

“She’s not a grenade,” Krolia teased. “You’re doing fine.”

He was still nervous as he looked down at the baby. She was sleeping soundly, squirming just a fraction in her sleep. But Keith held her still, trying to stay relaxed.

“See? You’re a natural.” Zethrid grinned, gently taking her back a couple moments. “That wasn’t so hard.”

“I-it really wasn’t,” he gasped. “Wow…”

“Keith, I’m home!” Shiro walked in and smiled when seeing everyone here. “Have you enjoyed your baby shower?”

Keith quickly nodded. “Shiro, I held a baby! I didn’t drop her or anything.”

“That’s great!” he grinned and moved closer, giving him a kiss.

He joined the party. Keith genuinely had so much fun that it was sad to see everyone start to leave. Now, he didn’t even have to leave the house to get anything.

“It was so nice of parents from our class coming,” Keith said as he was stepping out of the shower that night. He was still naked and started drying his hair off with a towel. “I didn’t even know we needed so many things.”

When he stepped in their bedroom, Shiro’s eyes were drawn to him. Keith was oblivious at first of the way his husband’s cheeks tinted red and how he clutched the bedsheets.

“What’s up?” Keith looked over.

Shiro grinned. “You look so good right out of the shower.”

“…You’re talking to me?” He looked at either side of him. “Are you turned on right now?”

“Kinda, yeah.” He blushed. “Of course, I am.”

“You say ‘of course,’ but have you seen me?” Keith blushed. “Please, I’m a land whale.”

Shiro clicked his tongue and reached out to take his hands. “No way. You’re gorgeous, baby.”

He shifted on the bed, trying to maintain his balance while bashful. “Well, you don’t have to lie…”

“Me? Never.” Shiro kissed his lips. “Let me show you how good you make me feel.”

“I’d never say no to that.” Keith grinned as Shiro held his hips, and his heart pounded as the only thought on his mind was letting Shiro take complete control of him.

\--

_There were still three weeks left_ until the due date when it happened. Keith was restless most of the day, spritzing up the house and even making dinner. That night, he finally crashed on the bed after complaining about cramps. These cramps were bothering him all day. Keith assumed for the most part correctly that it was just Braxton Hicks.

However, at two in the morning, he woke up with the shock of his life. He sat straight up, body trembling. All he felt was pain. So much pain…

“S-Shiro?” he gasped as he tried waking him up by rubbing his shoulder. “Shiro, wake up.”

“Hm?” Shiro started to stir. “Baby?”

“Shiro, i-it’s time,” he stammered. “We have to go.”

“Time?” Shiro sleepily started to settle down again. A few seconds later, it seemed to register, and he was startled awake. “What? What did you say?”

“The babies are coming.” Keith was scared to move. “We have to go. It hurts.”

Shiro practically jumped out of bed. “I-I’ll get the bag. Can you walk?”

“I think so…” Keith started to get up, legs shaking. “F-fuck, it really fucking hurts.”

“Keith, don’t panic.” He moved closer to take his hand. “Everything will be fine. We’re leaving right now.”

“I-I don’t even know far along it is,” he panted. “I’m scared.”

“We’re okay, baby. Maybe I can check.”

When Shiro started to kneel down, Keith held his prosthetic hand in a death grip. “Don’t you _dare_ look down there!”

“S-sorry. That was dumb.” Shiro quickly led them outside.

When they got in the car, things were getting worse. Keith was so uncomfortable seated like this, and Shiro was rushing. He doubled over on the next contraction, letting out an awful scream.

“Shiro, y-you promised! You promised you wouldn’t make this hurt more than it had to!”

“Baby, I can’t control that.” Shiro was genuinely trying to help, but all Keith heard in that moment was an excuse.

“I-I can’t believe I agreed to this!” He whimpered as it finally subsided, taking deep breaths.

There was nothing fun about this car ride to the hospital, especially not his water breaking after Shiro ran over a very large pothole. So much for being careful.

Keith was wheeled in almost immediately after arriving at the hospital. He waited anxiously for the doctor. They’d agreed that so long as everything was on schedule, they could still have a C-section done. But he was way ahead of schedule. He hoped they could still do it. He didn’t want to do one more minute of this than he had to.

A nurse saw him as he got settled. “Okay, Mrs—”

_“Mister!”_ Keith bellowed as another powerful contraction tore through him.

Shiro looked apologetic but was still just as aggravated. “That’s _Mr._ Kogane, please. Keith is my husband.”

“Mr. Kogane,” she continued correctly. “Dr. Vienna informed us of your pre-scheduled operation. She’ll be in shortly. I’ll just need to examine you first to make sure everything’s going smoothly.”

“Thank god.” Keith trembled as he tried taking more deep breaths during what little breaks he had. His dysphoria was spiking during each contraction, which was something he expected. But it was almost too much.

“Keith…” Shiro held his hand and pressed a kiss to his hair. He knew how he felt just by looking at him.

“Oh my,” the nurse frowned. “Your labor’s progressing rapidly. I’ll get Dr. Vienna in here right away.”

“W-what’s going on?” Keith panted and looked at Shiro. “Are they okay?”

“It seemed so,” Shiro admitted. “I hope they still can do surgery.”

“They’d better,” Keith growled and gritted his teeth. “Fuck!” He let out a loud shout when his pains started up once more. “Dammit, I want them out of me _right now!”_

“B-babe, don’t crush the hand,” Shiro stammered, watching Keith squeeze the prosthesis tightly. “Keith, breathe.”

“I _am!”_ He snapped, but he was growing overwhelmed. When he tried to breathe right, he just ended up getting lightheaded.

His doctor finally came in. “Okay, Keith. I’m so sorry, I’m here now.”

“I don’t want to do this anymore!” he cried. “P-please, I can’t do it.”

“We may not be able to operate for another couple hours,” she said solemnly. “I’m still trying to get in contact with your anesthesiologist.”

“What?” Keith gasped.

“I know how difficult the idea of birthing vaginally is for you, but you’re eight centimeters dilated already. I’d feel better if you continued this naturally.”

“I-I can’t do that!” he panicked. “So much is gonna go wrong!”

Shiro bit his lip. “Is there any other way? Can we find another anesthesiologist? Maybe I can try and contact Keith’s instead.”

“We can try,” she assured.

Keith was tensed, scared, and incredibly patient. More than an hour passed where he waited for the good news that someone would be there to help with operating, but it was all to no avail. They all said things he didn’t want to hear. It was a complete hell.

“F-fuck it!” he finally swore. “If no one wants to show up, let’s get this shit over with!”

Shiro was alarmed. “Keith, are you sure? Your nightmares, your dysphoria—”

“I just want them out! I don’t care anymore!”

In the middle of the hardest thing he ever had to do, Keith immediately regretted not just waiting for the anesthesiologist. But Keith was also a stubborn man. He was going to show that he could do this, if anything just to prove it to himself. His mind had been playing these horrible tricks on him for months. He felt like he owed it to himself to prove he could do this. He just wished that it could’ve been done in a less painful way.

Keith had himself braced against Shiro the whole time, Dr. Vienna guiding him through each wave. He screamed until his throat turned raw.

It took almost two more hours for the first twin to be born, and all time stopped. The first thought on Keith’s mind was that _finally,_ there was relief. He nearly collapsed in Shiro’s hold with tears streaking his sweaty face.

“W-why did I think I could do this?” he whimpered.

Tiny cries were what threw him off, but he was too scared to look down. His eyes were only on Shiro. His face was so soft, and Keith watched his lip quiver at the sight in front of them.

“Have a look at your first baby,” Dr. Vienna insisted with a smile. “It’s a boy.”

Keith had to force himself to look. The newborn squirmed, and he was in shock. With all the effort it took, he never would’ve guessed that their baby would be so small. Keith didn’t even know when he started crying. His hands were shaking too much, and he didn’t trust himself to hold their son. Besides, in less than five minutes, his twin was delivered.

“Well done!” Dr. Vienna grinned. “A girl…”

It felt like a fever dream. Would he have had this out of body experience if he went through with the C-section after all? He didn’t know… All he knew was that he was tired. So tired…

“Do you want to hold them?” she asked.

Keith quickly shook his head, still emotional. “I can’t. I-I’ll drop them.”

“You won’t.” Shiro was stunned and breathless, moving hair out of Keith’s face and settling beside him on the bed. “I’m right here.”

“Here, Dad…” One of the nurses handed him the first twin wrapped in a blanket. “Nice and easy.”

Holding the baby in his arms helped ground him back to reality. He looked right down, seeing his scrunched up crying face and tightly clenched fists. Keith’s eyes were misty with tears while trying to hold him and see.

Shiro was given their daughter to hold. Keith could cry right here from the sight. Here they were…

“Oh, Shiro,” Keith wept and kept close. “L-look at them.”

“I know. They’re perfect.” Shiro smiled and pressed a kiss to Keith’s forehead. “You did an amazing job. I’m so proud of you, baby.”

“It was so hard.”

“I know. But you did it, Keith.” Shiro kept close to him.

“Y-yeah,” he stammered. “And I’m never doing that again.”

He trailed off as he looked at the twins. Their crying quieted down, and Keith was still shaking with exhaustion. He’d never seen anything so perfect.

“That’s fine with me.” Shiro smiled and gave him a kiss. “I love you so much, Keith. I love you.”

Keith grew more tired as he rested against Shiro. “I love you too…”

“Rest, baby. You worked so hard.”

“Just a few more minutes…” He drifted off while holding the twins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on Twitter: @cryptic_gabriel


	7. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're finally here.

_Because he wasn’t—or rather, he_ was incapable of—nursing, his doctor gave him medication that was strong enough to take the pain while he’d still be able to hold and take care of the babies. He was unconscious the whole day after the birth, finally waking up the next afternoon.

Shiro was sitting in a chair watching TV, feeding one of the twins their bottle. It occurred to Keith then that they still didn’t have names for them.

“Shiro?” His voice was so hoarse from sleep, and probably from throwing it out yesterday.

His husband turned his head. “Hey,” he smiled. “How’re you feeling?”

“She gave me some really good shit,” Keith grinned and settled back on the bed. “I could fall asleep again right now.”

Shiro laughed and stood up, moving closer. “I’m holding Baby Two. Wanna take her while I feed Baby One?”

“Okay…”

Keith held his arms out, and he carefully took the baby. She suckled from the bottle with her eyes shut, taking big gulps.

“Don’t choke,” he chided and propped her head up more. He settled the bottle at a good angle. As he looked down at her, his heart felt full. “How’s my beautiful girl?” Keith smiled softly. Zethrid was right. Holding a baby felt way different than holding a doll.

Shiro shifted beside him with their son in his arms, feeding him his bottle. “I can’t get over them. They’re so perfect.”

“I know.” Keith grinned. “But they’re still nameless.”

Shiro pursed his lips. “You’re right. I’ve actually thought of one.”

“Me too.” Keith grinned. “For the firstborn, his name should be Yuri.”

“Yuri?” He smiled and looked down at the child. “That’s perfect for him. And for his twin… I thought of Jun for her name. Short and sweet.”

“Yuri and Jun Shirogane…” Keith sighed wistfully. “I love it. It fits them.”

They gave each other a slow kiss, and they both paused in feeding to burp the twins.

“Have you been up long?” Keith asked.

Shiro shook his head. “I had a short nap before they started crying. I’m not tired.”

“If you’re sure,” he hummed and looked at them both. “Is my mom visiting soon?”

“She’s here, actually.” Shiro smiled. “She was waiting for you to wake up.”

“Really?” he gasped. “Oh, bring her in here. Please?”

“Of course. Do you mind holding both of them for a moment?”

The task intimidated him, but he carefully shifted Jun so she was resting in one arm. “Okay. I’ll take Yuri.”

Shiro handed the other baby to him, making sure he had a good hold on him. Keith heard Jun coo in her sleep, and Shiro lingered a little longer to kiss him before stepping outside.

While alone with them, Keith looked down at the twins. Holding them both in his arms now, he was growing overwhelmed.

“Hi…” He smiled down at them while they rested. “I’ve waited so long to meet you.” He grew emotional while talking to them. “You know… I-I never thought I’d be a dad. And I never thought I’d carry you two for nine months either. But when I look at you, I know with all my heart that I made the right choice.” He sniffled. “G-great, now I’m crying,” he smiled. “I just love you two so much, and I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Keith?” Shiro stepped in a couple moments later. “We’re here.”

Keith looked up to see Krolia come in behind him. She brought several gifts with her and set them by the chair. “Keith… Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hi, Mom.” He smiled, his voice soft.

“Oh, look at them,” she gasped. “They’re so precious.”

Keith smiled up at her. “Meet Yuri and Jun. Your grandchildren.”

“You did such a wonderful job,” she insisted and looked at Shiro. “You too. They look so much like you.”

Shiro blushed and grinned. “Thanks, Krolia.”

“Can I hold one of them?” she asked.

“You don’t need to ask.” Keith let her take one of them.

She held Jun in her arms and grinned. “Oh, look at you… Hi, sweet baby…”

Keith relaxed and looked down at Yuri. “Shiro,” he gasped. “He’s opening his eyes.”

Shiro moved closer and took a look as well. “Hi, Yuri…” He crooned and rubbed Keith’s shoulder. “Hello, my son.”

Krolia smiled and sat with them. “Jun’s eyes are open, too.”

“Really?” Keith looked over. “Oh, look at her.”

She smiled. “You four make such a cute family.”

“Yeah, we do.” Shiro kissed his husband’s hair.

Keith definitely thought so, too. He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with Shiro and their beautiful children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on Twitter: @cryptic_gabriel

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on Twitter: @cryptic_gabriel


End file.
